Deputy Minister requests efforts to remove IUU fishing warning
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien has asked the Directorate of Fisheries to pool all possible resources and take synchronous measures to soon remove “yellow card” warning on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
At a conference to review the directorate's performance in 2021 and launch its tasks for next year in Hanoi on December 24, Tien hailed the directorate for contributing to the growth of agriculture and rural development sector this year.
The total aquatic output was estimated at 8.73 million tonnes this year, up 1% annually. Export earnings rose by 5.7% year-on-year to US$8.89 billion, surpassing the plan by 4.6%.
Sixteen out of 28 provinces have granted certificates of origin to caught seafood products, mostly those in the south central, southeast and southwest, in service of exports to Europe. This year, 3,104 certificates were granted to 41,085 tonnes of aquatic products of various kinds.
As of the late November, 98 fishing vessels and 775 fishermen in 60 cases were arrested in overseas waters, down 32% year-on-year.
Deputy General Director of the directorate Nguyen Quang Hung said in the near future, the directorate will direct growing aquatic products with economic value, develop linkage chains, ensure food safety and hygiene.
It will also work closely with localities to instruct farmers how to catch seafood at sea by chain to save cost and improve efficiency, he said.
